Title page for ETD etd-0115103-183313

Beyond the Solid South: Southern Members of Congress and the Vietnam War

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

History

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name

Title

Gaines M. Foster

Committee Chair

Charles Shindo

Committee Member

Leonard Moore

Committee Member

William Cooper

Committee Member

Joseph G. Kronick

Dean's Representative

Keywords

indochina

russell long

albert gore

dwight d. eisenhower

politics

richard nixon

harry truman

john f. kennedy

lyndon johnson

ho chi minh

diplomatic history

cold war

war

richard russell

john stennis

william fulbright

democrat

south

american south

foreign policy

vietnam war

vietnam

congress

u.s. history

solid south

ngo dinh diem

nguyen van thieu

Date of Defense

2002-12-02

Availability

unrestricted

Abstract

From the beginning of America's involvement in Vietnam in 1943 to its disastrous end in 1975, southern members of Congress exerted a significant influence on and expressed divergent opinions about Cold War foreign policy. In part because of an enormous increase in military spending in the South fueled by prominent membership on military committees, congressional hawks were more inclined to support military aid for countries fighting communism and accept military over civilian advice in prosecuting the Cold War. Hawkish southerners embraced containment wholeheartedly, exhibited an intense patriotism, and concerned themselves with upholding personal and national honor. Therefore, with some prominent exceptions initially, hawks were more inclined to accept military solutions to contain communist aggression. When America became involved in Vietnam, southern congressional hawks advocated fighting a war without limits for a total victory.

On the other hand, the southern doves were much smaller in number but still extremely influential. They did not abandon internationalism until very late, and preferred economic aid and multilateral solutions to Cold War problems. The leading doves, Senators William Fulbright of Arkansas, Albert Gore of Tennessee, and John Sherman Cooper of Kentucky, after enabling the United States to deepen its commitment in Vietnam, mounted a spirited dissent that legitimized protest and eventually helped end the war. They rejected American interference in smaller and weaker countries and also upheld a version of Southern honor that demanded that America admit its mistake in Vietnam. Therefore, the South, though "solid" on Civil Rights and other domestic issues, did not speak with one voice on Vietnam.